Sapphire

Great to see you back VS

Its a real shame, as they were a big part of PIO, and they gave some good advice, and seemed like genuinely nice guys

I am not known for being the most patient person in the world, but its so frustrating waiting for property to sell. The Tassie economy is in serious decline, no-one has any money and the doom and gloom down here in Tas is really quite depressing The property market is on its knees and no-one is buying.We used to get a lot of mainland investors coming down, but even they are avoiding the place now. We have had a couple of opens and only had 1 timewaster through Its not the price as we are well under market value and the property is really nice The problem is theres such an influx of property and very few buyers.Prices are rock bottom and there are no signs of things picking up anytime soon We are trying to remain up- beat and positive, but its hard We have been planning to go home for what feels like an eternity and now, we are in a position to go,the market is against us. It feels like we will never get out of here somedays.:frown:

Be very careful as well, about claiming back allowances for working from home As an example, If you deem part of your home to be an office,and claim for that area, you can then be liable for CGT on the sale of your property for the proportion of the home, you have claimed against on your tax Again always best to speak to a proffessional,they should be able to make sure you do not get yourself in that situation, when they fill out your return.

We got a small refund in the first year, and a whopping great big bill every year since It just depends when you arrive , at what stage in the tax year, as to whether you will get anything back or not If you are self employed, the ATO, will get you to pay future tax in instalments quarterly ,after you lodge your first tax return. Usually the instalments amount to far higher than the tax which will be due, and then you will get any over paid tax back.That really galls me, that they do that, as its very hard to make the payments some quarters. Always best to use an accountant, theres so much that they can claim back for you, that you just would not know about otherwise

Harpo and HWB have vanished,well at least I think they have MissusB vanished as well,,,wonder how she is getting on Come back guys,,,we miss you:biggrin:

It could be messy:)

If you go into a pharmacy for anything, they do a huge "on sell", with just about every product they can find. Everyone is sick here, and are on medications,for this that and the other Ive noticed a couple of people we know, who have taken out private health cover in the last year or so, and they have had every test and referal you can think of since they have had private health cover.I do think alot of it is "jobs for the boys", and its unusual to find a GP here who doesant write referral letters at every opportunity I think so many people have such an unhealthy lifestyle here, lack of fruit and veg and lots of fatty foods,and processed food, and its a gold mine for the private health service

Very good advice and worth taking notice of

I worked for a very large , well known company, for a year and that was exactly what they did as well Until you had accrued your 38 hours, no extra hours would be paid at an overtime rate That was in Retail, and I did the wages report , and that was how I was trained to do it,by the company

I have to agree with that one:)

When we first joined the practice, we had a great GP, who would bulk bill.He had loads of time for his patients, but needless to say he quickly moved onto another practice in NSW.I dont think he fitted in very well within the practice, he was not as money hungry as the other GPs there The only time the practice bulk bill is if you need a repeat perscription and they insist you go in to the Script clinic and have a 2 minute consult , and get your perscription, and then that will be bulk billed I dont know of anyone here who has a bulk bill GP

From what I have seen and experienced, its a 'Business", with so many of the GPs here. They seem to refer you for the slightest thing. I was told I needed Back Surgery and a Referral to a Surgeon.The GP did not even examine me. I just told him, my back was killing me,and he started writing out his referral straight away.I threw it in the bin, and have just "got on with it" I cant afford to have scans and surgery,I do not have private health cover Everthing medical is a huge business from Chiros to everything you can think of They advertise in the local paper,and on the radio. I dont know how people afford medical costs here.

Fantastic news though, well done to Hubby My Son walked straight into an IT job, when he got home and Ive been offered several good Sales positions already,on my return,I dont think theres as much Doom and Gloom as some would have you believe.:biggrin:

I doubt anyone really cares about your reasons, but all I will say is Dont be under any illusion that Racial abuse doesant happen here. Im sure you will be on the receiving end of it yourself once you arrive, thats a shock I can tell you

So many sectors are the same now, and whilst no-one wants to "spoil the dream" for anyone, migrants coming over need to be fully aware that its not easy to secure work here. If they are happy to come and take the risk, well fine, but just be very aware that you will need to have a good bit of money behind you, incase you cant secure work. I have been saying for ages, and ages, just because a skill is advertised on the Skills in Demand List, they do need to be treated with extreme caution.Very often these lists are out of date Also agencies have a habit of advertising non-exsistent jobs,and many have found that out the hard way

Exactly, and now the prices will go even higher, pure greed. They will have a quick sale to make people forget what price items were and then when the sale has finished the prices will be sky high. They cash in ,every which way, and the consumer suffers,everytime.I think prices will rocket, and the dollar will be blamed. Ive noticed the supermarkets reduce items for a week, before the price increases .They always do that,regardless of the dollar.Just another way of masking price increases.

Love the pics Chris We have rescue ones to come home to.Friend of ours is into Reptile rescue in a big way, so I expect we will be helping out Something else to add to our zoo...

A UK course wont be worth anything here The construction industry is in big trouble in many states, and Tilers are 10 a penny, as are most trades now. He may be lucky and get some subby work, but it will probably not be reliable.So many very qualified/experienced Aussies Tradies out of work, and they will usually be picked over an outsider. Even if a job is on the Skills in Demand List, many are finding out the hard way, once they arrive in Aus, that its not worth the paper its written on. Stonemason is a completely different job, and it is a highly qualified job, restoring old buildings etc, which requires great skill and usually many years of experience.Nothing like Tiling a floor.

Whilst it is a beautiful state,there are not too many employment opportunties, unless like Quoll says, Hubby has a spectacular in demand skills set. Dog breeding would be a hobby, not an income.There is a very limited population here for buying puppies, so you will probably have to export to the mainland.Dogs are 10 a penny here, and you can pick up pups for very little money or as Give-aways in the local papers. You probably would not see very much profit from breeding Kennels require lots of licensing, and depending on the area you choose,it may be scenic protected and find it very difficult to get a licence for kennels Also be aware that the council can revoke your licence at anytime, and it does happen We know a lady who has spent $thousands and $thousands building kennels/cattery and now because of 1 complaint from a neighbouring property (albeit a fair way away), the licence has been revoked. There are lots of Tourism businesses for sale,so that may be an option, but make sure you know the area very well,and due dilligance is of the upmost imortance, as there are a lot of businesses struggling and selling up.

Some financial experts are saying that China is having a slowdown, before it takes off again.You dont know what to believe . But I do think the Aussie economy is in trouble. Tassie is in major recession.I dont know whether its official, but we have seen a massive decline in everything down here,over the past 5 years. Construction and Retail are suffering badly.Theres so much unemployment. Some of the retailers are now thinking that the Aussie dollar dropping, is a licence to print money. A prime example;We bought some Digital kitchen scales 2 weeks ago, in one of the big electrical retail stores , $24.99 This week $39.99.I asked why they had gone up so much, and was told that the prices are going up, because the dollar is dropping and its more expensive to import. If this is what is going to happen, the dollar dropping is certainly not going to be in the favour of the consumer.Things are bad already, and by increasing prices, its going to hurt the ecomomy even more.

If anyone had told me, before I came out to Aus, how rascist it was, I would not of beleived them I was/am still are shocked at times, at the levels of racsim,and sexism,that goes on here. I find the level of racism towards Brits, very surprising,cosnsidering a lot of Aussies have British descendants. We are pretty used to it now, and must admit we are pretty good at "jokingly" making comment back now.That usually shuts them up.Most are ok, and take it,but you do get the odd one, who doesant like the fact, we answer back, and although they smile, they dont like the answer they get back. I dont think it will ever change ,thats just what they do!!!!

Its a real shame, that some just have to be that childish and petty,but theres plenty out there!!!!!! He dident rise to the bait at all, he was very proffessional, and I think its a real shame that he is no longer a Mod, but I can really see it from his point of view. With so many of them,on PIO, if you say its black, they will swear its blue.

It is so rare to hear anything negative in the UK, about Aus.The TV programmes,the newspaper articles, immigration websites, all point ,towards the misconception that Aus is the perfect lifestyle,jobs a plenty, and everything is rosy. For some it is,and for some it is not. The great propaganda machine spills out this misconception and it is very easy to be lulled into . I think that is why some will question your sanity, if you return to the UK. There were a few families and friends we knew, who all came out to Aus,within a couple of years either side of us, and everyone has now gone home. They have all gone home for various reasons, some just because they missed the UK, and thier families and others for whom, migrating was the biggest mistake they ever made, and they have gone home totaly skint, as they could just not secure work ,and had spent everything they had,getting here and surviving without work. Im sure we will get asked,by people who dont know us, and maybe they will think we are mad returning ,but we will just say, "it wasent for us".

There are some extremely difficult argumentative people on there, and I thought you were handling it really well. I can understand the " riding a bike , with 1 leg " quote. At least you gave it a good go.